Diocese: settlement is not an admission of guilt

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is paying $2,000 to settle a lawsuit accusing a priest of making inappropriate comments to a 14-year-old boy during confession.

The Rev. George Desjardins of Concord was accused of talking about pornography and rape during a December 2012 confession.

Diocese spokesman Kevin Donovan said the settlement is not an admission of guilt and described the payment as "a means to an end, so the community can move on."

Peter Hutchins, lawyer for the Pembroke family, told the Concord Monitor that the comments were unacceptable.

The lawsuit said the priest asked whether the boy masturbated or watched porn, suggested he should wear a "rubber" and warned that girls may "yell 'rape'" during sex. The parents' names were withheld to avoid identifying the boy.

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